How many Queens

[S.M.N.Bee]

I"m having problems with a new hive.

It was a three pound package installed the first week of May in a deep ten frame lang. I thought I may have installed the queen cage wrong so i took a quick peek the next day and the queen was already released. Normally I would have left them for a week.

First inspection - a little over a week later showed the queen was no were to be found. No eggs,no brood.nothing. The bees were building comb and bring in some pollen. I assumed they were queenless so I ordered a new queen. Installed her the next day.

Second inspection - 5/28  Drone larva and caped drone cells. No caped worker cells. Very eratic pattern. I did find the queen but she looked a little odd. Had a dark abdomen instead of the reddish abdomen  I thought she should have. I didn't think a drone laying queen would do me any good so I pinched her and discarded her. I took a frame of eggs and caped brood from my other hive and gave it to them.

Any advise on were to go from here would be appreciated.

Thank You
John

[indypartridge]

First inspection - a little over a week later showed the queen was no were to be found. No eggs,no brood.nothing. The bees were building comb and bring in some pollen. I assumed they were queenless so I ordered a new queen.

I would have waited another week. Sometimes it'll take a queen two weeks before she begins laying.

Second inspection ...I did find the queen but she looked a little odd. Had a dark abdomen instead of the reddish abdomen

Queens can be different colors, or are you saying this queen was a different color than you installed earlier?

...Drone larva

How can you tell it's drone larva before it's capped?

I took a frame of eggs and caped brood from my other hive and gave it to them.

I don't think I would have been so quick to pinch the queen, but adding a frame with eggs & brood is always a good move. Repeat as needed.

[FRAMEshift]

Drone larva and caped drone cells. No caped worker cells. Very eratic pattern.

I agree with the advice from Mr. Partridge.  Give the queen more time.   I have noticed that newly mated queens will lay more drones and lay erratically as you describe.  Just give her time to get her rhythm.

[S.M.N.Bee]

Thanks guys

Maybe I did over react but a queen laying drones did not seem good to me.

Indy - I said drone larva because the bees were starting to build the dome shaped cap over these cells.

John

[John Adams]

most of the queen supliers i know will not sell a queen that doesn't have a good laying pattern. that's the way I do when making my own queens. i give them enough time to start laying and THEN if I don't like the pattern I do the hive tool test on them.

[backyard warrior]

It depends on the time of year sometimes they will lay drones then start laying workers i had a queen like that already who i thought wasnt any good then just like that she started laying a solid pattern of worker brood  chris

[Michael Bush]

>Maybe I did over react but a queen laying drones did not seem good to me.

A queen who lays 100% drones has failed and must be replaced.  A queen who lays 20% drones this time of year is normal.